Comptroller Susana Mendoza, right, and Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea), left, speak to the House Personnel and Pensions Committee Thursday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

The House Personnel and Pensions Committee unanimously passed a bill championed by Comptroller Susana Mendoza that will allow Chicago police officers and firefighters, including her brother, disabled by COVID-19 to receive full disability benefits.  

Cook County Jail

A pair of General Assembly committees approved initiatives pushed by the Cook County Sheriff's Office in recent years aimed at cracking down on lewd acts by jail inmates and helping deputies get in contact with car manufactures to track down stolen vehicles.   

Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith appears before a House appropriations committee last year. [Blue Room Stream]

Lawmakers pressed Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Director Marc Smith during his appropriations committee hearing Thursday around staffing and child safety concerns.

Sen. Willie Preston (D-Chicago), center, with Chicago firefighter Rep. Mike Kelly (D-Chicago), left, speak at a news conference in Springfield Wednesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Several Chicago firefighters made their way to Springfield Wednesday to call on state lawmakers to align the Chicago Fire Department’s promotional process with nearly all other fire departments around the state to get what they say would be a fairer promotional process.  

Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) speaks at a news conference Wednesday. [Blue Room Stream]

The Senate Labor Committee unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that requires parents who profit off vlogs featuring their children to set aside money for their children and gives children the ability to ask the video be deleted when they turn 18. 

Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago) speaks with supporters of the legislation outside the State Capitol Tuesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Few people in Illinois’ prison system are eligible for parole since the state abolished the system over 40 years ago. But a pair of bills passed by the House Judiciary- Criminal Committee Tuesday could bring parole back for some prisoners sentenced to long prison sentences.  

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill to allow hotels to remove unruly customers. And the House Ethics and Elections Committee advanced a proposal that would allow students to receive credit for working as an election judge.

Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Vice President Brad Tietz speaks at a news conference in Springfield Thursday. [Blue Room Stream]   

As the number and size of class action lawsuits involving the state’s Biometric Privacy Information Act (BIPA) grows, business groups are calling on lawmakers to change and clarify portions of the law to reduce the billion-dollar penalties piling up against companies operating in Illinois.  

Gov. JB Pritzker speaks at Streamwood High School Friday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

Staying focused on education, Gov. JB Pritzker is highlighting a funding proposal to recruit and retain teachers in Illinois as the shortage of teachers persists.  

Rep. Mary Beth Canty (D-Arlington Heights), middle, participates in the House Child Care Accessibility & Early Childhood Education Committee Thursday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

The House Child Care Accessibility & Early Childhood Education Committee advanced a proposal Thursday that could be the first step toward making all-day kindergarten a reality in each of the state’s schools.